News round up: A parent’s guide to gang culture

An advice booklet telling parents how to spot whether their children are involved in a gang and detailing the practical steps they can take is to be published today by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith.

It coincides with the launch of a victim support charity, the New Year Shooting Memorial Trust, set up by Beverley Thomas and Marcia Shakespeare, whose teenage daughters were killed in a drive-by shooting in Birmingham in 2003.

Gordon Brown will today launch the first phase of his autumn economic fightback when he unveils a package of measures to revive the ailing housing market targeted at first time buyers and vulnerable families.

Launching his housing plan with the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, Brown will announce a £1bn three-point plan which will involve:

· A new mortgage rescue scheme to help the most vulnerable families at risk from repossession.

· A new shared equity scheme aimed at helping first-time buyers, called Home Buy Direct, where government and developers would offer a loan of up to 30%.

· Bringing hundreds of millions of pounds forward to allow social landlords and councils to build more affordable homes.

British women are under-represented in Parliament, paid less than men at work and increasingly being sent to prison for committing minor offences, a report on sex discrimination has found. The report, which was published by an influential committee of the United Nations, paints a damning picture of daily life for women living in the UK who continue to fight for a fairer deal in society.

Nacro, which attempts to cut crime by finding practical work for offenders, has formed a consortium with the private security firm G4S, a drugs charity and a construction company, its chief executive Paul Cavadino has confirmed.

Together they are planning to build and run two 600-bed jails: Belmarsh West in south-east London and Maghull in Merseyside, both of which should open in 2010.

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